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Every afternoon, I will post something for you to share with your family in the evening. It may be a talking point, a short video, a Scripture to read, etc.

Today’s Post…

A Bath on the Inside

Anne Graham Lotz writes in her book, The Daniel Prayer, that she read a little book by an old-timey revivalist that challenged readers to “look to our own hearts and the spiritual ground that had perhaps become hardened over time.” The author listed sins that at first glance Anne didn’t recognize in herself. But, by third reading, she saw herself in them all. She spent 7 days working through that list; confessing her sins. But, at the end, she said it felt like she’d had a bath on the inside!

For our Family Devo. time over the next week or so, let’s take a look at some items on that list, one sin each day. Let’s really let the Holy Spirit reveal to us if each is a sin we’ve been committing. Then, spend some time in confession.

Explain to your children that as Christians, our sins are paid for. But, when we sin, we should still ask forgiveness. It’s tempting to make a blanket statement such as, “Forgive me for all my sins.” But, Anne writes that the author in the little booklet pointed out that because we sin one at a time, we should review and repent of our sins one by one.

Why is it important to confess sin?

sin hinders our relationship with God

sin often leads to further sin and a hardened heart (begin not to even identify a sin as sin anymore)

personal revival

Today’s word: Ingratitude

As a family define gratitude/ingratitude and make sure everyone understands its meaning.

“a disposition to make a suitable return of benefits or services, or when no return can be made, with a desire to see the benefactor prosperous and happy…a virtue of the highest excellence, as it implies a feeling and generous heart, and a proper sense of duty.”

Ask, Do you have so much gratitude that it causes you to want to please God? That’s what can happen when we focus our hearts this way. Our hearts get excited and we want to bless and serve the Lord even more!

Make a list of things to show gratitude to God for. This list can include things like salvation, but also specific blessings you’re family has received.

Challenge your family to look for things they should have gratitude for. Spend some time thanking God together.

This week, we will take a look at some Parables that aren’t the most well known. They all focus on spiritual verses earthly rewards. I wrote these lessons over the weekend for a team taking a mission trip to Alaska. Hope your family enjoys them!

Object Lesson Materials: worn out, broken items that were once valuable or important to someone (broken watch, rusted item, clothing that has holes, etc.)

Procedure: Talk about each item – how nice it used to be, how much money it must have

cost, how much the owners must have loved them, but now they are worthless. Talk about

how earthly treasures don’t last, but heavenly treasures will. Explain that today’s parable is about someone who put their trust in the wrong kind of treasures.

Bible Study:

Read Luke 12:15-21

Jesus told the parable about a man that had a very good harvest. His barns weren’t even large enough for all he had, so he built bigger barns. He spent so much time working on getting more and more stuff here, but didn’t spend any time working on things that would matter eternally.

Did you know we have kind of a bank account in heaven?

Read Matthew 16:27

The Bible teaches that we will be rewarded in heaven based on our deeds.

Read Daniel 12:3

It appears that one way to earn a reward in heaven is to tell people about the gospel so that they become saved. Also, Jesus seems to point to using our wealth for purposes which are heavenly such as helping the poor, supporting missionaries, etc. We will talk more about this in tomorrow’s parable – The Shrewd Manager.

What will the reward be? The Bible doesn’t specify, but it does point to these two things:

Joy (Luke 15:6-7)

Responsibilities (Matthew 25:14-30)

There are probably other rewards too!

Read Matthew 6:19-21

Wherever you spend the most time laying your treasure, that’s where it will be stored. Since heaven is forever, make sure you spend most of your time earning treasures that will last eternally!

Treasure Tag – Pirate’s love treasure! Pretend a pool noodle is a sword and use it to play tag. The person who is “it” must try to touch the others with the pool noodle. If you get touched, you become the pirate after the treasure.